


You and Me, Together

by regardinglove



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Elementary School, Fluff, M/M, Parent Dean, Past Balthazar/Castiel, Past Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Teacher Castiel, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 01:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4688024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regardinglove/pseuds/regardinglove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean ends up chaperoning Ben’s class trip to the zoo, he meets Ben's ridiculously attractive teacher, Mr. Novak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You and Me, Together

“Daaaaaad! Wake up!”

Dean cracks his eyes open when little fists begin pounding on his leg. The sun is already streaming in through the windows and his alarm clock reads 6:45 AM. He turns over and looks up at his son’s bright grin. He’s already dressed and ready for the day, and Dean’s still laying there in his pajamas.

_Wait...Ben? Why is Ben on my bed?_

“What are you doing here, kiddo?” Dean croaks out through his dry throat. “I wasn’t supposed to get you until Friday.”

Ben crosses his arms over his chest and throws him a little pout. “Mom dropped me off a few minutes ago. You’re chaperoning my field trip today, remember?”

No, Dean didn’t remember, but he isn’t about to tell Ben. “Uh...of course!” Dean lies through his teeth, and then sits up and pulls Ben into his arms. “I wouldn’t forget about that!”

Ben laughs as Dean tackles him onto the fluffy covers and leaves a kiss on his forehead.

“Dad! I’m too old for that!” he complains through the giggles, and Dean lets him go as they climb out of the bed together.

“You’re never too old for a little fun with your old man,” Dean says. He leads Ben down to the kitchen and grabs his favorite cereal from the top shelf. “Besides, you’ll be in college before you know it. I’ve gotta take advantage when I can.”

“I’m in the fifth grade. I’m not even in middle school yet!” Ben says. He walks over to the fridge and pulls out a carton of milk.

Dean pours the cereal into a bowl and grabs a spoon from the drawer. “Yeah, well, take it from someone older and wiser. You’ll be my age before you know it and have kids of your own.”

Ben climbs up onto the bar stool and pours milk into the bowl. “I don’t wanna be a dad. I wanna be a rock star and write kickass lyrics.”

He nearly drops the box of cereal when he hears that. “Excuse me? Did you say ‘kickass’?”

Ben shrugs and piles of bite of Lucky Charms into his mouth. “Yeah, why?” he mumbles.

“You don’t use that language, you understand? It’ll get you into trouble.”

“But you say it all the time!” Ben counters, and yeah, Dean can’t deny that. Not having the kid around all of the time makes him forget to put on the filters when he is around, and Ben has caught him using _colorful_ language on more than one occasion.

“I’m an adult; I can do what I want” is Dean’s brilliant comeback, and Ben just rolls his eyes.

“But you’re the one that said I’ll be an adult before I know it. I’m just flexing my adultness,” he says.

“It’s too early for this,” Dean grumbles under his breath. “I’m gonna take a shower and then we’ll leave, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” Ben replies, and then turns back to his breakfast.

Dean leaves Ben be and makes his way down to the bathroom. He turns on the water to scalding and strips off his well worn Batman tee and worn boxer shorts that he wears to bed almost every night, then steps into the beautifully warm water. The pounding of the stream relaxes any tension from his muscles. He leans back into the spray and tries to let every worry he has about Ben go, but that’s easier said than done.

Being a father had never been on Dean’s radar. Hell, the whole white picket fence life was never even a thought in his mind until he met Lisa back in college. Tall, gorgeous, and incredibly smart, Lisa Braeden stole Dean’s affections in the blink of an eye. Their one night fling turned into a two night one...which turned into a week long foray...which turned into a marriage with a baby on the way a year later. Dean loved her, he really did, but it never could’ve lasted. They were two completely different people with opposite views of how they wanted to live their life. Lisa wanted the bungalow in the suburbs with a dog and three kids, while Dean wanted to live in the city with their one and done child. When Ben was two and Lisa began insisting on having another kid, they both realized that their relationship was filled with problems and the love they once had was long gone.

A week later Lisa moved back in with her old roommate and divorce papers were laying on Dean’s coffee table.

That was eight years ago, and sometimes Dean wonders if they would’ve been able to work it out. Now that he’s older, the idea of having another kid isn’t something he’d turn down and moving out to the suburbs to live in a house with a white picket fence isn’t something that he’s opposed to. There were several times that he thought about trying to win Lisa back, but then he thought about how confusing that would be for Ben and decided against it. Besides, their joint custody plan works perfectly. Dean’s single and living in the city, and gets custody of Ben on the weekends. Lisa is living in a house in the country with her new husband and gets custody on the weekdays. On holidays they bring their two families together and pretend that their situation is totally normal.

“Dad! We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry up!”

Dean doesn’t realize that the water has turned cold until Ben calls out. He quickly runs a bar of soap over his body and gets out of the shower. He nearly slips on the wet floor when he's toweling off, and then he jogs over to the closet. When Ben calls again, Dean just reaches for the first clothes he can find, a pair of old jeans and a worn AC/DC shirt, and grabs his wallet from the dresser before throwing on his boots. He chases Ben out the door and drives through downtown Lawrence at a breakneck pace, hoping that they won’t miss the bus for the field trip. Dean has never been good with directions and he can only imagine how lost he’d get them if they need to find the zoo on their own.

When Dean pulls up to the front of Lawrence Elementary, Ben’s class is already waiting outside. Dean lets out a sigh of relief when he sees the familiar faces of the other parents, and lets Ben out by the bus before he parks the car in the lot across the street. When he walks back over, Victor is the first to greet him with a punch to the bicep.

“Winchester! It’s been a long time!” Victor says with a smile on his face. “What’s new with you?”

Dean pushes him away with a grin and crosses his arms over his chest. “Nothin’ much. Work’s been busy down at the garage, so I’ve been pulling extra hours. What about you?”

“Well, you know Lawrence, man. Lots of crime to fight. We got a call about a car collision last week that really threw a wrench into the PD,” he jokes, and then throws his arm over Dean’s shoulder. “But really though, life is good. Vanessa’s pregnant again, you know.”

Dean perks up and turns towards Victor. “Really? Congrats, man! I didn’t know.”

“You would’ve if you actually came down to The Roadhouse every once in awhile. Isn’t that right, Jo?” he calls, and Dean flicks his gaze over to the familiar blonde head of his friend.

“That’s right, Winchester! It’s been too long and we’ve got a burger with your name on it!” She winks at Dean before leaning down to adjust the collar on her daughter’s dress.

Dean gets out from under Victor’s arm and turns towards him. “I get it, I’m lame for choosing work over friends, but I’ve rolled in a lot of extra cash. I...actually started up a college fund for Ben. Lisa and I both think it’s time that we start thinking about that, so I’ve been pulling extra hours at the garage so I can contribute. Don’t wanna be a slacker in this, y’know?”

Victor nods and then leads him over to the larger group of parents. Kids are running wild around the area while a teacher’s aide tries to track them all down. He recognizes a few faces. There’s Ruby, the overzealous aunt of the classroom troublemaker, Jesse, lounging against the bus. Benny is trying to keep track of his twins, two little girls who are always running around or talking to someone, and Linda is standing next to Kevin, her always obedient son who is the only one not causing a ruckus.

And then there is a face Dean doesn’t recognize, and it’s attached to the most gorgeous man Dean’s ever seen.

“Dude, who’s that?” Dean whispers while he nudges Victor in the ribs.

Victor turns to where Dean is looking and lets out a laugh. “What the hell, dude? You don’t know your kid’s own teacher?”

Dean blinks and turns towards Victor. “I know that Ben is in Ms. Novak’s class, and that guy is obviously not Ms. Novak.”

“No, but he is _Mr. Novak_ ,” Victor stresses. “Ms. Novak is on maternity leave for the rest of the year and her brother is filling in. Didn’t you get the letter they sent home a few weeks ago?”

Dean vaguely remembers Lisa telling him about Ben getting a new teacher, but it was mixed in with a bunch of other information about child support and college funds.

“Uh...Lisa could’ve told me, but I don’t remember…”

“Is everyone ready to load the bus?” a low, rumbling voice calls from the front of the group, and of course it belongs to the gorgeous Mr. Novak, because life would throw a hot, unattainable teacher his way on the eighth anniversary of his divorce from Lisa.

The kids let out a squeal, and then the teacher’s aide is wrangling all of the students into a line while parents get assigned their groups for the day. Mr. Novak walks up to Benny and Jo first with a list of names and yellow badges for them to wear. Ruby and Linda get purple ones, and then Mr. Novak walks up to him and Victor with the last list of names and two green badges.

“Let’s see here...Victor Henriksen and Dean Winchester?” Mr. Novak says as he glances down at his roster. “You two will be watching over group C, which consists of Claire, Ben, Meg, Cassie, and Garth. Wear these badges,” Mr. Novak hands them the green badges, “and keep this list with you at all times. My cell number is on there if we split up during the day. Any questions?” he asks, bringing those bright eyes up to Dean’s.

“Uh…” Dean says eloquently, and then mentally begrudges himself for not being smoother, “....uh, have we met?”

Mr. Novak smiles back at him and puts out his hand. “No, I don’t think we have. I’m Cas Novak, the fill-in for Anna while she’s on maternity leave. And you are?”

“Dean Winchester,” he replies as he takes Cas’s hand in a grip. “I’m Ben’s father.”

The light goes on in Cas’s head and he drops Dean’s hand. “Oh, you’re Ben’s father! There was a different man who came in to pick Ben up the other day, and I just assumed…” Cas trails off, clearly catching up a beat too late.

“Divorce,” Dean replies. “That was probably Gabe, Ben’s stepfather. Yea tall, always is sucking on a piece of candy? It is a long story.”

Cas nods and then blushes. “Well, it’s a long bus ride. Care to sit next to me and talk about it?”

“Uh, yeah! That would be great, Cas,” Dean gets out, and he feels a blush rise on his own cheeks when Cas grins back.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you on the bus, then,” Cas says lowly, and then turns back towards the rest of the group.

Dean turns around when he hears Victor laughing behind him, and he brings a finger up to point at his friend.

“Wow, you’ve got the hots for teacher, huh?” Victor gets out between laughs.

“You shut your face,” Dean snaps back. “Get on the bus.”

“As you say, Winchester, but don’t think that I won’t be teasing you about this for the rest of the day!” Victor calls after him, but Dean pays him no attention. Victor can think what he wants to think; Cas and him are just talking, nothing more. It can’t be anything more, Dean reminds himself, because dating Ben’s teacher would totally be inappropriate. Hell, Dean’s only talked to the guy once and he’s already thinking about first dates and what those lips would feel like on his...what that stubble would feel like against his thighs…

_Snap out of it, Winchester!_

Dean takes a breath and composes himself. He won’t get caught up with Cas. _He won’t._

* * *

He gets caught up with Cas.

It begins innocently enough. They’re on the bus talking about the divorce, Dean filling Cas in on the details and how it affected Ben over the years. Cas listens and takes it all in with wide, attention filled eyes, and eventually turns the subject over to Ben’s amazing English skills and his aptitude for math, which leads to Dean talking about his family and how he probably inherited those skills from Lisa. Then they’re talking about exes and Cas goes on a tirade about a particularly nasty girlfriend named Daphne who was always pushing him to be someone he’s not, and the next thing Dean knows his fingers are rubbing Cas’s knee.

It’s ridiculous, and completely uncalled for. When Dean notices where his fingers have landed, he pulls his hand back like it was shocked and shoves them under his legs to prevent further caressing. Cas notices, but makes no comment about it and goes back into his tale about Balthazar, a Frenchman he dated back on college who used to use him for nude art modeling projects. He’s going on about the poses and awkwardness of the whole situation, but all Dean can do is try to think about his grandmother’s toenails. If he doesn’t, he’s positive that this field trip will turn a lot less innocent than it currently is, and he’ll probably be asked to never come near Cas again.

When they finally pull up in front of the Carver County Zoo, Dean’s practically the first one up and out of his chair. He wastes no time clamboring off the bus and pacing the sidewalk, trying to push down any thoughts about Cas bent over a table, holding a glass of wine like he described earlier. Yeah, it’s been awhile since he’s gotten any action, but now is not the time or place for thinking about that fact. Besides, even if he wanted to sleep with Cas (which, okay, he totally does), he can’t. Not while he’s teaching Ben, anyway. Maybe one his time as temporary teacher is over, then they can talk.  

When everyone is off the bus and Victor appears next to him, Cas gestures for everyone to follow him up to the Zoo gates. Victor nudges him in the side and throws him an amused wink, but Dean ignores it. He can’t be thinking about that bus ride; now, all of the focus needs to be on the group of five kids they’re in charge of.

“Okay, let’s have the purple group start out by the giraffe exhibit,” Cas says as he points backwards, “and let’s have the yellow group begin in the reptile exhibit.” He brings his eyes up to Dean’s and grins. “I’ll be with the green group and we’ll start out in the African animal exhibit.”

Dean doesn't ignore the wink Cas throws at him before he gestures for the other groups to run off.

When the others are walking away, Cas wanders over to Victor and Dean. “We’re going to be on the North side of the zoo, so we’ll need to walk this way,” Cas says as he leads the group towards a large arch that reads ‘African Safari’ in bold, copper letters.  The kids mumble to one another behind them and Victor gets into a conversation about baseball with Ben, leaving Cas and Dean leading the group alone.

“So...what inspired the zoo trip? Not exactly a place to let kids run off steam.”

Cas turns towards Dean and grins. “It was required by the school. Every fifth grader needs to go and learn about fauna and flora to fill their Earth Science requirement.  There will be a quiz on all the information I give them today.”

Dean nods and lets an easy quiet fall between them as they walk into the exhibit. Elephants are basking in the sun while monkeys are swinging from vines a few trees over. The kids ask a thousand questions, like ‘What do lions eat?’ to ‘Eew! Why is that elephant lying in it’s own poop?’ Cas answers each one and points out tiny details of the beasts, such as the grooved toes of the elephant to the pregnant belly of a lioness. The kids are immediately taken in by Cas’s lectures, and Victor and Dean just lay back and listen. This chaperoning stuff is _easy_.

That is, until Ben runs off from the group and yells at Dean to come over.

“Dad! Look at this thing!” Ben calls out, and Dean walks over to the exhibit Ben is ogling at. Inside the cage is what looks like a cross between a goat and an antelope. Its tiny horns are barely visible and it is jumping around from rock to rock, never slowing down.

“What is it?” Ben asks, and Dean just shrugs.

“I don’t know, buddy. There’s no info about it.”

“Actually, it is a klipspringer,” Cas says, and Dean jumps. _Where did Cas come from?!_

“...They’re antelopes whose name means ‘rock jumper’ in Afrikaans. They’re extremely energetic and don’t drink; they live off of the water they get from succulents.” Dean feels a finger brush against the back of his hand, and then Cas is standing a lot closer than he was before. “They also mate for life,” he says lowly, and damn, there’s those thoughts of Cas and the table again.

“Uh, I need to use the bathroom,” Dean gets out, and then he’s running towards the nearest exit to get away from the man that he can’t have.

* * *

When lunchtime rolls around, Dean finds it to be a relief.

The entire morning was filled with Cas standing close by. It was like they were gravitating towards one another without even trying. Cas would be off helping a student, and Dean would find an excuse to go in that direction too. Dean would be explaining how fish travel in schools, and then he’d look over to find Cas watching him with this little smile on his face. It was getting ridiculous, and Dean’s earlier lust was transforming into thoughts about going on a date, and Cas grabbing pizza with him and Ben, and bringing him back for Thanksgiving to meet his mother and brother.

It’s stupid. Totally stupid, because Dean hasn’t been in a serious relationship since Lisa. Why is Cas bringing up all of these old emotions...ones he hasn’t felt since he first met Lisa back at college?

They wait in line at one of the food booths and grab pizza while the other parents help the kids with their lunches. Dean and Cas take a seat at one of the empty tables and dig in immediately, and Dean can’t hide the moan that comes out when that gooey, cheesy goodness hits his tongue.

Clearly Cas can’t either, because a minute later he too is groaning around the taste of the pizza as he eats it bite after bite.

“This is amazing,” Cas moans. “I’m never eating frozen pizza again.”

Dean laughs at that and then flicks his gaze up to Cas's lips. Another round of laughs comes when he finds a piece of cheese dripping from Cas’s mouth.

“Uh, buddy? You’ve got a little…” Dean motions towards the cheese on his lip, but Cas just blinks back. “It’s...nevermind. I’ll get it.” Dean reaches over and swipes a thumb over Cas’s lip, catching the cheese there. It isn’t until afterwards that he realizes how un-platonic that was.

“Sorry,” Dean whispers, but Cas just leans over and lets his fingers graze Dean’s hand again.

“It’s okay, Dean. Really. I appreciate it,” Cas replies earnestly, and his eyes are so wide and blue and full of admiration that Dean actually feels his gut flip with butterflies.

_Shit. I’m fawning over Ben’s teacher._

Dean once again pulls his hand away and gets up from the table, brushing crumbs off of his t-shirt. “Well, we better get back to those exhibits, huh? Those...uh...animals don’t learn about themselves!”

Cas furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head a bit. “Dean? Are you okay?”

Dean walks forward into the table and knocks over the napkin dispenser. “I’m fantastic, uh, I’ll just...uh...yeah.”

He can feel the eyes on him as walks away, again.

* * *

An hour later, Dean and Cas find themselves in the aquatic exhibit. The kids are fascinated by the turtles that are swimming by, and Claire has her nose pressed up against the glass when a walrus appears. Cas gently chides her to move away, and she throws him a pout before stomping over to the fish instead.

“Hey, guys!” Victor calls from the aquatic entrance. “The kids wanna go check out the petting zoo before we leave, so I’m gonna take them over there.”

Dean looks over at Cas who nods back to him. “Okay, we’ll be right behind you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine,” Victor says, and Dean feels the blush rise to his cheeks when he realizes what Victor is doing. _Bastard is trying to get me alone with Cas._

His plan works, because when Victor and the kids leave, Dean and Cas are the only ones left in the aquarium. He feels Cas’s gaze on him, and turns around to face the man.

“Listen, Cas-”

He doesn't get to finish before Cas’s lips are on his.

It all goes very quickly then. Dean’s eyes are glued wide open at first, but after a few seconds he finds his comfort zone and falls into the kiss, hands coming up to run through Cas’s hair while Cas pushes him against the aquarium glass. Dean knows that this isn’t right, but with Cas biting his lip he forgets about everything but Cas’s hands on his body.

That is, until a low cough rings out from next to them and they break apart with gasping breaths.

The woman in the tan security guard outfit does not look too pleased at them, and she points her baton in their direction.

“Sorry to break up the party, guys, but this is a family place. No groping allowed.”

Dean turns his gaze to the ground and feels Cas move away from him. “Sorry,” he whispers like a scolded child, and then looks up to find the woman giving them an amused smile.

“Look, I get that you two are in love and all, but I’m serious, guys. I’ve kicked people out for less than what you two were doing. Get a room, okay?”

Dean nods at the woman, and then she heads back for the doors. When she’s gone, Dean looks up at Cas. He’s embarrassed, because now Cas will have to explain how he got the bruise that is quickly forming next to his lower lip, or how his hair went from perfectly placed to disheveled.

“Well...uh...that was….”

“Interesting,” Cas interrupts, and then rubs his hand along the back of his neck. “I wasn’t planning on-”

“Yeah, me either,” Dean replies, and he flicks his gaze up to Cas’s eyes. He ignores the fact that his pupils are still blown open.

“Cas, I like you. I’ve only known you for a day and I think you’re gorgeous and good with kids and a person I’d like to get to know, but you’re Ben’s teacher and I don’t want this to get weird, okay?”

Cas nods and crosses his arms over his chest. “I like you too, Dean, obviously. I think you’re funny and great with Ben and a really, really awesome kisser,” he lets out a laugh. “But I understand your reservations. I want to explore this, but it’s up to you. I’m only Ben’s teacher for another month. If you want to hold off, I could go out with you when I’m not his teacher anymore.”

Dean can’t believe it. Cas would wait? Really? He can't believe that someone else would do the same.

“Yeah Cas, we’ll grab coffee once Ben isn’t your student anymore. But to hold us over…”

Dean leans in and pulls Cas into an embrace again, lips colliding like tidal waves. If he’s going to go a whole month without this, then he wants to make it last.

Cas lets out a breathy moan and closes the little space left between them. He can feels Cas’s abs against his own, and if Dean is going to get out of here decent then he needs to stop, like now.

He pushes Cas away and once again is left gasping for breath. Cas is flushed and flustered again, and Dean just throws him a little grin.

“Can't wait for that coffee, Cas,” he practically purrs, and then leaves a very wrecked Cas alone in the aquarium.

* * *

Ben’s fifth grade graduation is a wonderful day. Lisa got Ben all dressed up in his best attire, and the three of them walk into the auditorium together. Gabe is waving at them from the front row, and Lisa pecks a kiss on Gabe's lips before shooing Ben off to the teacher’s aide across the room.

Usually being in equal distance to Gabe is uncomfortable, but that day it is not weird at all. Gabe greets him with a little wave and Dean grins back, even complimenting the new watch he is sporting. He can see Lisa smiling from the corner of his eye, and he vows to actually try and befriend Gabe in the future.

When the processional tune begins playing, all the parents in the room turn quiet. Ben leads the procession with his tie slightly askew, and he laughs when he hears Lisa tisking under her breath. The other kids follow, and soon enough they’re all sitting in chairs up on the stage. The principal goes on about leaving elementary school behind, and then there are awards and diplomas given out to each student. When the principal announces the graduating class of 2015, everyone breaks out in cheers as the kids begin to hi-five one another and pull each other into hugs. (Well, except for Ben. He’s too busy rocking out on an air guitar to pay attention to the others.)

When Ben comes back from the stage, Lisa is the first to embrace him. He complains about being too old for hugs, but Lisa just chides him about not being a kid forever, and he grins when she winks back at him. Ben fist bumps Gabe, and then it is Dean’s turn to wrap his boy up in his arms and put an embarrassing kiss on his forehead.

“Daaaaaad!” Ben complains loudly, and Lisa lets out a little giggle.

“What? I can’t embarrass you at your own graduation?”

Ben pouts and then quirks his eyebrows. “Wait...Mr. Novak isn’t my teacher anymore!”

Dean feels the redness creep up his neck when Ben points that out. “He is not,” Dean replies.

Ben throws him a grin. “Then what are you doing talking to me? Go ask him out already!”

Dean looks over to Lisa, and she just nods back. “It’s time, Dean. Go get him.”

With a pat on the arm from Gabe, Dean turns around and finds Cas in the crowd. He’s lounging up against the bleachers and his eyes are wandering the room. When they land on Dean, a wide grin lights up his face.

Dean walks over and leans back on his heels. “Hiya, Cas.”

“Hello, Dean,” he replies.

“...You up for a coffee?”

Cas walks forward and links his arm around Dean’s. “I’d love that.”

 

 


End file.
